Missouri Western State University’s 700 acres provide a peaceful setting during summer break.

An hour south of the Division II college, however, is Arrowhead Stadium. That’s where Smith will hear the roar of Chiefs fans hoping he’ll lead them back to prominence — and to their first playoff win since another ex-49ers quarterback, Joe Montana, led them there in the 1993 season.

“It’s very apparent right away how much they like sports out here and how much they like the Chiefs,” Smith said while sitting upstairs at Missouri Western’s student union.

Smith, 29, still sports a buzz cut and tightly cropped beard, and he’ll again be in a red, No. 11 jersey Friday night when he suits up for the Chiefs in an exhibition against the 49ers.

“As frustrating as last year was, it’s certainly not a memory I’m trying to forget,” said Smith.

A reminder came in the mail two weeks ago, when the 49ers shipped him his NFC Championship ring. That consolation prize remains in a box in his dorm room. “What do you do with them?” Smith asked in all sincerity.

Not surprisingly, Smith considered his past two seasons his best, taking special joy in the January 2012 comeback over the New Orleans Saints that marked the 49ers’ first playoff win in nine years.

Smith’s low point with the 49ers? No, not their flirtation with Peyton Manning in March 2012, which Smith dismissed as merely a “little blurb.”

“For me, the most frustrating thing was, for sure, the first time dealing with my shoulder,” Smith said of a 2007 shoulder separation. “As a youngster, I was trying to play through it. I’d do it so differently now if I could go back. It was frustrating at the time how it all got dealt with, how that all played out.”

What played out was an open feud with then-coach Mike Nolan.

“I felt I was getting pushed to come back,” Smith recalled, “then I did, and then it’s, ‘Well, you’re not playing good.’ As a young player, that was really hard for me to handle.”

Also difficult was 2010, when Smith said the 49ers badly “underachieved” with what essentially was “the identical team” that excelled a year later upon Jim Harbaugh’s arrival as coach.

Now Smith finds himself being coached up by another hands-on, fundamentals-preaching coach in Andy Reid.

“Literally, they stand in the same spot (at practice). They stand right behind you,” said Smith, adding how much he appreciates such “instant feedback” from coaches.

Doug Pederson is Smith’s eighth offensive coordinator in nine seasons, and none has ever gone so far as Pederson recently did to stump for Smith.

“Ultimately, every team has to have a quarterback. I think we have the best in the league,” Pederson told the Kansas City Star.

Asked about that quote, Smith replied: “I loved it.” Why? Because Smith said all athletes should feel that they’re the best at their craft.

Smith recently told The New York Times he and Reid would “love to stick it” to their doubters. Smith clarified Wednesday those words weren’t directed at the 49ers organization but rather his critics at large.

Smith indeed is thankful for the 49ers fans and teammates he won over, from his overdue success on the field to his adept handling of last season’s benching.

Days before Super Bowl XLVII, Harbaugh said: “He coaches Colin now more than I do, and that speaks high of the kind of person and teammate that Alex Smith is.”

Smith still exchanges text messages with Harbaugh and Kaepernick. Offensive linemen Adam Snyder and Joe Staley remain two of Smith’s best friends, and he’s looking forward to their reunion Friday at Arrowhead.

When it comes to playing against the 49ers defense, Smith talked as if he’s in unchartered waters, even though he was the scout team quarterback during last year’s playoff run.

Boosting Smith’s chances of success this season will be running back Jamaal Charles, who probably won’t play Friday because of a foot sprain, and wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, who Wednesday said Smith and Reid are the best quarterback/coach tandem he has had in seven seasons.

Smith does not feel his new teammates look at him as a savior in the wake of last season’s 2-14 debacle. It’s a different feeling than when he joined the 49ers in 2005, as a 20-year-old out of Utah.

“I remember doing drills there my first year and looking around and having teammates watching me: ‘What’s he got?’ ” Smith recalled. “The first day of minicamp, there were like 50 photographers out there taking pictures of us stretching. I kind of developed this (mentality of) every single throw I’m going to prove it. I’ve got to be the No. 1 pick. I’ve got to be that much better.”

People in Kansas City are now focused on Smith, and he doesn’t mind getting recognized walking around or dining out, though he was surprised that started immediately after his March 12 trade.

Five months later, camp has ended, and he can move into his downtown condo with his wife, Elizabeth, and their two young sons. (They’re selling their first home in Los Gatos, but they’re keeping a second one they moved into two years ago.)

After so many years of going through training camp at team facilities in Santa Clara, Smith said “It’s fun to kind of get away,” with the Chiefs’ stay at Missouri Western.

He could have just as easily been referring to his current career path.

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